What is Land Reclamation ? What are its causes ? Describe land reclamation and other projects in Bombay.
(1) Land Reclamation is the process of reclaiming of marshy or submerged area or other wasteland for settlements, cultivation or other use. (2) Causes for land reclamation : There was shortage of land. It was a land of seven islands that were separated. The population increased in the early 20th century. The industrial development also required more land. (3) Projects : The earliest project began in 1784. The Bombay Governor William Horn by approved the building of the great sea wall which prevented the flooding of the low-lying areas of Bombay. In 1864, the Back Bay Reclamation Company reclaimed the western foreshore from the tip of Malabar Hill to the end of Colaba. Reclamation often meant the leveling of the hills around Bombay. The Bombay Port Trust built a dry dock between 1914 and 1918. It created the 22-acre Ballard Estate by using the excavated earth. Later on Marine Drive of Bombay was developed. It was built on land reclaimed from the sea in the twentieth century.
